


completely and perfectly and incandescently happy

by pinkfingernails



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hosie, Mutual Pining, but only for jo, hope is soft, pride and prejudice era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 06:07:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30084639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkfingernails/pseuds/pinkfingernails
Summary: "Who was that young lady?" Caroline, the twins' mother, asks, coming up behind the girls and snapping Josette out of whatever trance she was put under."I... don't know we just..." Jo trails off."We bumped into her. But Josette here couldn't stop staring!" Lizzie teases."Her dress was quite beautiful," Josie replied, brushing off her sister's absurd comment. They were here to search for suitable husbands, not pine over young women they've collided with.Though when she thinks about it, the audburn-haired girl looking so intently at her did cause a warm flush to spread throughout Josie's chest, making it hard to breathe. Probably the corset, she assumes.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Josie Saltzman & Rafael Waithe, Lizzie Saltzman & Sebastian
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	completely and perfectly and incandescently happy

**Author's Note:**

> hiii i got this idea while i was watching little women on the plane and wanted to write it down so here it is!! side note- caroline and stefan are the twins' parents because i like a universe where alaric doesn't exist:)

The ballroom of the Mikaelson Mansion was the most grand in all of England, some would say. The ceilings were painted with lavish, three-dimensional realisms that dated back hundreds of years and there were windows so big you could see all of England, framed with lavish Damask drapes. 

When the ballroom was in use it was full of life. There was music, dancing, women in dresses talking and men with coattails acting like fools in front of said women. When it was empty, though, it felt like every other fancy room in the house. Some might say it felt too big or too empty, but Hope thought it was perfect. As the youngest and only Mikaelson heir, she was, of course, to inherit the mansion, the land, the fortune, everything. Hope thinks when she's in charge of it all, she'll get rid of the empty rooms and fill them with something useful. She'd take the master bedroom for herself and turn the countless nurseries into stables for the horses; she'd always thought they got too cold outside in the winter. 

Tonight, at least, the ballroom won't be so desolate. The news of the Mikaelson Ball had surely reached half of Europe, and Hope is sure there'd be hundreds of people travelling to the mansion, crowding it and filling it with too much noise. All there to introduce their countless sons to Hope, of course, as she'd have to decide which one would be suitable for her hand. And soon. At 19, the youngest Mikaelson was already on her way to becoming an old maid. When her mother was Hope's age, she'd already been pregnant. Hope vowed to never lead the same life her mother had. 

Hope's personal nurse, Jane, had chosen multiple dresses for the young girl to wear tonight, all too frilly and constricting to Hope. She'd felt like a fool walking out in a particularly uncomfortable pink gown, the corset laced excessively tight around her waist, forcing the air out of her lungs.

"I can't wear this," Hope tells Jane firmly. "I won't."

"Ma'am, please," Jane insists, fluffing the back of Hope's skirt obsessively. "Your father has requested this one specially-"

"Don't speak of my father, Jane," Hope spits out. "Not today. Not when he's practically _begging_ some young man to take my hand and win me over so he can finally stop being ashamed of his only daughter." 

Jane had a shocked look on her face that Hope turned her nose to.

"I'm more observant than you'd think."

Jane didn't respond, just simply loosened the shiny, pink corset from around Hope's waist and helped her out of the dress, handing her another to try on, against Hope's incessant complaints.

\--

The carriage ride seemed to last days and days, though it was only a handful of hours. Josette gazed out of the window of the carriage, her sister's head rested heavily on her shoulder, and watches the English countryside pass her by. The trees and acres of grass called for her, pleaded for her to run to them and spend the day underneath their branches. She shifted uncomfortable in her seat. 

Her sister groans. "We must be close, are we not?"

"Hush, Elizabeth," their mother states harshly. "The Mikaelsons were kind enough to extend their invitation to us specially, I'd expect you to be grateful to be invited in the first place."

Elizabeth rolls her eyes and groans again, resting her head back on her sister's shoulders.

"I simply can _not_ look my best after riding in a carriage for hours upon hours," Lizzie complains. "Do you suppose the Mikaelsons have set aside rooms for us? I'll have to freshen up after we arrive. Right, Josie?"

Josette didn't respond.

Caroline shakes her head and smooths out her dress that has wrinkled from the extensive journey. "I'm not sure. What do you suppose, Stefan?"

Josette glances at her father who was lost in thought just as she was, gazing out the window and assuredly admiring the scenery. Josette had always taken after her father in that way; relishing in the simple things rather than material items, as her sister does. 

Josette had always thought her sister took after her mother. Not only in character but in beauty. They both had fair skin, blue eyes, and hair the color of corn. Josette took more after her father; he had kind eyes and lips set permantly in something that resembles a frown. Jo admired the way he was always stoic but cared a fair amount for the things he was passionate about. He was the one that taught her to play chords or showed her the best rocks to skip.

Jo felt a sort of sadness for her father. Something she couldn't explain.

Josette remains quiet for the duration of the carriage ride. She wouldn't want to cause her mother any more trouble. She glances out the window once again while her mother silently pleads with her sister, and notices the beautiful scene she was appreciating earlier has changed to an industrial, crowded city; skies grey with smoke and people cramped in the streets. They must be in London.

\--

Hope pulled at the collar of her dress; a simple white thing that, although Jane protested, was the only one Hope could stand wearing. Jane still made her wear her corset, though, which still felt like someone was squeezing her lungs.

The dress was itchy and her toes felt cramped in her shoes, but she smiled through her teeth when her mother and father descended the stairs, her father ordering the servants the whole way down and her mother remaining quiet; like she always did.

"You look quite nice," Hope's father says imply when he walks passed her. "That wasn't one of the dresses I gave Jane. Did you pick this?"

Hope nodded. "The others were too small," she lied easily. It had become an effortless task throughout the years.

Hope's father, Klaus Mikaelson, was one of the richest men England. His own father left him with thousands of acres of land and he was the most eligible of his siblings, making him the next heir to the Mikaelson fortune. 

Hope has heard stories from servants that worked in the mansion when her father was young. Stories of his misbehavior and his plans to travel all around Europe. Hope wonders what went wrong that made him the strict, wound-up man he's become.

"We'll go into town soon and get fabric for new gowns," Klaus says plainly and walks passed his daughter, her mother trailing quietly behind him.

\--

The hand of the steward is soft when he helps Josette out of the carriage. She whispers a quiet appreciation to him before fixing her dress and advancing closer to the entrance of the mansion.

The sun has set, making the warm glow of the large house send soft beams of light onto the entryway. Josette takes a moment to appreciate the house, doubting someone could actually live in a house so big. _Surely, they'd lose their way at least once a day,_ she thinks to herself.

"Come on, Jo!" Lizzie says, pushing passed the brunette and lifting her skirt to easily ascend the stairs. Elizabeth grabbed her sister's hand, pulling her along with her, both girls abandoning their parents at the front door.

\---

The later it got into the night, the more people began to show up at the mansion. Hope was waiting anxiously for the arrival of her favorite Aunt and Uncle, who had written to say they'd surely make an appearance tonight.

She'd ducked behind women's poofy dresses to avoid catching her parents' eyes, forcing her to introduce herself to countless young suitors. Hope had no desire to settle down. She wishes she could do away with her cramped shoes and put on something more comfortable, but is sure she'd be reprimanded for it later.

Hope is watching a man make a fool of himself in front of a woman, laughing silently to herself, when she feels someone bump into her, starting a ripple that causes a woman Hope doesn't recognise to spill champagne on her expensive-looking dress. If Klaus wasn't Hope's father, she'd surely be lectured, but she's able to duck out into the hallway to avoid confrontation with the woman.

"What was that?" Hope exclaims, turning to two girls that must have bumped into her on their entrance. "My father will kill me if he finds out I-"

Hope stops mid-sentence. 

Her eyes dart between the two girls, finally landing on the shorter of the two, the brunette. Her eyebrows are creased in worry and her mouth hangs open, searching for an apology, but says nothing. The other girl, a blonde, speaks up instead.

"It's not like you were scolded," the girl says with a cold tone. Hope has decided she doesn't like this one as much. "I'm sure you'll make it out alive." The blonde laughs and looks to the brunette, probably thinking she'd be laughing, too, but finds the shorter girl standing still, eyes still fixated on Hope.

"I-I'm, uh, I'm sorry," the brunette girl stutters. "My sister and I musn't have seen you when we entered."

_Sisters_.

"I accept your apology," Hope says, not letting her gaze leave the brunette girl. She almost says something else before she hears the band cease their music, and the ring of metal against a champagne glass coming from the ballroom. "I've got to go, I'm sorry." Hope leaves without another word, hurrying into the ballroom before her father can notice she's gone.

\--

"Who was that young lady?" Caroline, the twins' mother, asks, coming up behind the girls and snapping Josette out of whatever trance she was put under.

"I... don't know we just..." Jo trails off.

"We bumped into her. But _Josette_ here couldn't stop staring!" Lizzie teases.

"Her dress was quite beautiful," Josie replied, brushing off her sister's absurd comment. They were here to search for suitable husbands, not pine over young women they've collided with. 

Though when she thinks about it, the audburn-haired girl looking so intently at her did cause a warm flush to spread throughout Josie's chest, making it hard to breathe. Probably the corset, she assumes. 

"We've been told there are dacnes starting soon," Stefan comments, still admiring the ornate house around him. "It would be in our best interest to introduce ourselves to the Mikaelsons before any festivities begin."

Elizabeth resented her father for making their family attend the Mikaelson's ball. He was intending to become business partners with Klaus Mikaelson, which, in turn, would mean the family would have to move to London. All of Lizzie's friends were back home, miles away.

Josette didn't mind so much, though. She'd thought the countryside was beautiful and enjoyed the chance of scenery from their little town in Beverley. Josie spent most of her time alone, anyways; if not accompanying her sister on herextensive shopping trips.

The Forbes family walked into the ballroom together, immediately met with the most beautiful, elaborate room Josie had ever seen. Josette would have done _anything_ to meet the wonderful artist that painted the ceiling. She'd always taken a liking to art. 

A young man leads the family to the front of the room, where a man and a woman, who Josie assumes to be Klaus and his wife, Hayley, stand. Their faces are void of emotion, and Josie feels their eyes staring daggers at her family. Suddenly, her corset felt tight and she placed a delicate hand on the collar of her dress, cursing the dressmaker in town for making it so constricting.

"The Forbes family," the young man states, presenting the family to Klaus and Hayley like they were an item being auctioned off. Josie avoids eye contact.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person," Stefan says, reaching forward to shake Klaus' hand. Josie watches as the man takes her father's hand, shaking it coldly.

"This is my wife, Caroline," Stefan continues. Caroline steps forward and bows her head slightly. "And our daughters, Josette and Elizabeth." The twins' father motions to both of them and they follow suit of their mother, curtsying slightly in front of the family.

When Josie raises her head again, her eyes meet another young woman flanking Klaus, arms crossed over her chest and dressed in a smiple, white dress, contrasting greatly with the two adults standing next to her. Josie's eyes widened when her eye's meet the girl's, immediately recognizing their deep blue hue. 

"This is my wife, Hayley," Klaus speaks up, motioning towards the quite woman by his side. Josie would have thought Hayley was quiet and quite beautiful if she wasn't busy staring at the redheaded girl.

"And our daughter," Klaus continues. "Hope."

**Author's Note:**

> ahh please let me know what you thought and some things you'd like to see in this one:) I'm very excited to write more!


End file.
